I'm new here and new to this grand obsession that we seem to share. I've got a million questions, so I may as well start with the following:

I've noticed quite a bit of overlap in the product lines of competing manufacturers, enough so that it sometimes looks like fairly legitimate, reputable companies are coming very close to building the kinds of knock-offs one might expect from some fly-by-night* operator based in or near Hong Kong.

A case in point would be three appealing air/watercraft listed in Toys R Us' online catalog. As of this morning, they offer:

Naturally, the Toys R Us site gives you no hint that with some or all of the above, one must purchase a proprietary battery pack separately.

The confusing thing is that just a year ago, when I was just beginning to get sucked into this r/c madness, I could have (and, I think, actually did) easily looked at a Storm Launcher at Wal Mart, and then a week later seen a Fly Wheels XPV at Radio Shack and thought I was looking at the same, exact product. Then, on another day, I might have seen a Megatech Hydro-Fly on some drop-shipper's Web site and mistaken it for the XPV.

So I ask you, is there any kind of general consensus as to whether any one of these is significantly more fun to own than the others? Do any of them enjoy a good reputation at all? Whatever your opinions are, I'd very much appreciate hearing them!

Oh yes we are, snobs that is. Flightsuit: go to the Foamies section and search for the Hydrofoam thread,the very beginnings of your type of craft. There is the whole (short) history of the hybrid from invention to commercialisation. Newer versions are posted regularly. Originally a 3D and/or indoor device, opinions on that type of flying abound on that thread. In Europe Graupner does one , plus endless rip-off clones on FleaBay as well as the ones you mention.

Thanks for the guidance! I'll be very interested to read the chronology of the hydro-foam category's evolution, especially because knowing the order in which these products arose will give me some sense of who's innovating and who's doing the copying.

I'm not especially attached to that particular niche, though, I was just curious and thinking about taking advantage of the fact that they were on sale.

IMHO that one is getting close to an interesting aeroplane layout, not an Unlimited Class hydroplane that will fly like a `plane as was the original concept. The "Thunder boats" are a wonderful examples of speed on water that do fly unintentionally sometimes , the designer of the first hydrofoams used this unwelcome feature as the next step to controlled flight and fooled a lot of pond-watchers. They should look like hydroplanes, good example is "Miss Tide", which is in the thread mentioned in my last post.

IMHO the Storm Launcher is the best of the bunch. Runs like a winner on ice & snow in cold weather (10 F)). Lipo lasts a long time, maybe 8 - 10 minutes at full throttle. Buying the batery and charger are a pain, but try Ebay, just bought two for $30 shipped. The lipo is worth $15 alone.

I have a HydroFly and it is a piece of crap. The manufacturer cust serv is a joke and the HydroFly looks nice but doesn't fly. 1st test out of the box on the ground broke a prop for no reason and it flew off and put a hole in my wing. changed the prop and now the Hydrofly barely moves on the ground less a lone fly. Called cust serv they said nothing they can do. Wasted $100 on it. Not worth the money. Best to get a storm launcher or mini storm launcher. Or something else. I have the mini and a 787 superpower hydrofoam. Don't waste your money on a hydrofly from megatech.

How about something that looks like a real plane?... Depron Twinkle is up for all surface flying. It can scoot around grass, snow, water... and if you want to get all formal, pop the landing gear in for some more formal fun on hard surfaces. Only hitch is, I need to finish the depron plans